PASSION FOR TRADITION

I grew up the youngest grandchild in a full-blooded Italian family in Luling in the 1960s. My paternal grandparents, Grandma Jenny and Grandpa John, owned Busalacchi’s Restaurant and Papa John’s Pool Hall. For decades, these were favorite spots for locals.

My home was only a few blocks away from the restaurant, and I would spend time there many days after school and on the weekends. I loved being surrounded by my family. I would be distracted at school just thinking about seeing my grandmother afterward. I knew that when I arrived, she would yell from the back of the restaurant, “Baby Jan is here!” Sometimes I could hear her from the parking lot.

When I arrived, there was so much activity, I didn’t know what to do first. I